e-Cigarettes face restrictions in SA

It could take decades before the health impacts of electronic cigarettes are fully understood, a South Australian parliamentary committee has found.

The committee took 142 submissions on the use and effects of e-cigarettes and has recommended they face similar restrictions to ordinary cigarettes.

That includes prohibiting the sale to minors, banning their use in smoke-free areas and banning any advertising or promotion.

Committee chair Annabel Digance said only 1.2 per cent of the population used the electronic devices but that number could be expected to grow with no regulations currently in place.

"While studies are underway to explore the health effects of e-cigarettes, it will be some time, possibly decades, before we really understand how they affect a person's health," she said.

Ms Digance said it also remained unclear if e-cigarettes were effective in helping people to quit smoking or if they could act as a gateway to smoking and nicotine dependence for young people.

"As a committee we cannot justify recommending a substitute with unknown effects on health," she said.